Point Camera at Light, Trip Shutter

[NorthernFocus]

...The water in your second shots reaches back to powerful memories in a seminal time of my life.

There's no arguing with that, Brian. I guess we all hope to create images that make an emotional connection. I'm glad you like it.


Thanks for the comments, Richard.

...The reason that I have not shot this is because I don't like to take a good camera on a fishing trip. Usually by the time I am coming home - I am totally wet and my hands are gunky from handling the live bait and the fish I catch...

That's why we pay for "weather proofed" cameras/lenses. I have that issue every time I go out for a paddle in the kayak. No way to keep myself nor the gear dry. But no camera no shots

[skitterbug]

Hi Dan,

I love the photos and I am hoping - someday - to be able to capture birds as magnificently as you do. So may I ask - what settings do you use when you are going after shots such as these? Hand hold your gear probably. I figure shutter speed has to be fairly high, f number maybe 11 to 15 - ISO ?. Auto focus? There is very little time to fiddle with proper ISO, etc. I'm fascinated.

Thank you.
Sign me - Lots and lots to learn.....

PS: Didn't mean to ask for information that you already posted. I totally missed the post about Sunny 16, etc. That helps a bit!
Thanks!

[NorthernFocus]

...what settings do you use when you are going after shots such as these? Hand hold your gear probably. I figure shutter speed has to be fairly high, f number maybe 11 to 15 - ISO ?. Auto focus? There is very little time to fiddle with proper ISO, etc. I'm fascinated.

Hey, Sandy. When shooting BIF I almost always shoot in manual mode(including no auto ISO). The reason being that auto exposure modes will typically be dominated by the BG (unless you use spot meter and are REALLY good at keeping the bird centered). And with birds flying the brightness of the BG is typically changing, sometimes drastically. So I try some test shots or otherwise figure out a proper exposure for the bird and set to that. If the BG turns out over/under exposed it is what it is.

Shutter: at least 1/1000 for large, slower flapping birds, preferably 1/1250. Higher shutter speed for smaller/faster flappers e.g. at least 1/1600 for waterfowl.

Aperture: over time I've settled on f5.6 aperture regardless of species. I did so by playing around with DOF calculations for various focal lengths, formats, etc. and at the end of the day if a bird is filling about 1/3 of the FOV then 5.6 is adequate DOF regardless of lens of sensor format. There are some unique situations that require f8 like trying to get multiple birds within DOF, shooting really erratic fliers against the sky or a far distant BG, etc.

ISO: adjust for exposure after choosing ss and f-stop per above.

AF: of course AF-C(in Nikon nomenclature). And every time I get a new camera body I try various AF modes and always end up back at single point. Simply because it is most predictable vs letting the camera make decisions on picking a focus point. Now with the newest Nikon bodies I've started using "group" mode also because it is predictable and a bit more forgiving than single point.

VR: off

Tripod vs handheld: depends on the lens and other considerations. Shooting long primes I always try to use a tripod/gimbal simply to support the weight. Plus after some practice I actually find it easier to track birds with a gimbal mount. Much smoother motion.

On VERY rare occasions I will use auto exposure. If the path of the birds' flight is fairly predictable and the light is changing a lot (e.g.partly cloudy skies with sun coming/going) I will turn on auto ISO.

That's what works for me. Everyone has to practice and figure out what works for them individually.

[skitterbug]

Hi Dan - I really appreciate your detailed reply. You've covered several things that I've struggled with - trying to keep the shutter speed high enough to keep blur out of my photos, the aperture setting kept constant (for the most part) and ISO. What I've been doing until today was checking the light meter and then changing the setting by changing the shutter speed by using the quick dial setup. For some reason, it never occurred to me to set that dial to regulate the ISO! (dweeb much - yep.... me) So I switched a few things around on my camera settings and am looking forward to giving it a try!

Did I say I appreciate your shared information and the time you took to answer?

Oh and tripod info will also be helpful. I've been agonizing about what I should purchase. I have the $50+ one that I used with the Rebel camera to get started but know that it isn't nearly substantial enough to use for a Mark II - 100/400 lens. And the "head" it had was a panning type - very basic. Useful for static subjects only.

So thank you very much! And yes, I realize that I will need to incorporate this info into a pattern of my own but at least now I have a better place to start from!

Thank you!

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Dan. Apart from gulls serving as a useful target for novice bird photographers like myself, I now have further motivation to shoot them. FWIW, the eagle image has the edge for me, simply because of the light on the eagle's eye.

[Digital]

Dan, beautiful photographs.


Bruce

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you folks enjoyed the shots and glad to be of service.

Sandy, IMO the tripod is at the bottom of the priority list for equipment for BIF shooting unless you just can't hold the camera.

[skitterbug]

Sandy, IMO the tripod is at the bottom of the priority list for equipment for BIF shooting unless you just can't hold the camera.

Hi Dan - Actually, I'm doing pretty well for hand holding my equipment - so far! You'll laugh cause I'm even developing a few arm muscles!

Thanks again for taking time to reply!

[george013]

Hi Dan - Actually, I'm doing pretty well for hand holding my equipment - so far! You'll laugh cause I'm even developing a few arm muscles!

Thanks again for taking time to reply!

I don't know if Dan meant with gimball also a ballhead. Much cheaper and is doing the same: eliminating all vertical en horizontal movements leaving you only with rotating movements around the three axes. I used it twice with shooting motors and it's wonderful.

George

[jayardamasin]

I really like both pictures!